Archive for the ‘Appearance’ Category

This odd plant, called “one of the most bizarre wildflowers in North America” by Wayne Armstrong, a professor at Palomar University, lives along with a few other members of its small genus in the deserts of the Southwestern United States. The genus includes Pholisma sonorae, otherwise known as “sand food,” which is pictured above, as well as Pholisma arenarium, also known as the “sand plant” and the “desert Christmas tree,” pictured below.

The flower of a sand plant parasitizing the roots of a "burro brush."

Special attributes:

Parasitism – these plants live mostly subterranean lives, deriving energy from the roots of other plants. They have no chlorophyll – the only time they ever come up to the surface is when they grow their flowers.

Note: All of the photos from Wayne’s Word came from the same page, so I didn’t make individual citations for each one. You can tell which ones are from Wayne’s Word by looking for a black frame around it and a “[Copyright] W.P. Armstrong 2008” in the bottom lefthand corner.

The flannel moth, otherwise known as the pussy moth, is among the hairiest of insects. It can be found throughout the southern United States, Mexico, and parts of Central America. The most distinguishing feature of these moths and their larvae is their appearance. The larva is known by several names, including asp caterpillar and puss caterpillar. They are possibly even hairier than their adult forms, and their glossy coat of fur often tempts people to pick them up. Unfortunately, the hair of the caterpillar is very poisonous and will immediately cause an incredibly painful sting and rash. The sting is usually localized to the area that touched the asp, but it can spread quite a bit and cause severe distress.

This fluffy caterpillar packs a painful sting

The asp caterpillar looks even more amazing on film:

More Information: These moths are not amazingly unique compared to other moths unfortunately, so just the Wikipedia page proved to be very informative. The poisonous fur coat is the main unique feature of this species.